I'll try to explain where Mehmet, whose reputation for helping travellers and NOT asking for money or any other favours is unquestioned, is coming from. Many travellers pass through Istanbul en route to/from Iran so he has a vested interest to promote that not all helpers are crooks/ask for money (my words, not Mehmet's...)

He is of the view, supported by his contacts with legitimate businesses in Iran, that Hossein is running an illegal business supplying accommodation and other services like CdP avoidance which is illegal.

I would assert that everybody posting on this thread has been badgered to do so by Hossein. He has spammed many other bike/travel sites too. He is currently banned here, so uses his proxies to do his promo for him. I received plenty of spam from him until I added him/his email/ip address to my ignore list. Hence my motivation to stick 2 fingers up at him.

Hossein would save himself a huge amount of hassle by becoming a paid HUBB advertiser and telling people the costs of his services in advance. 99% of all businesses do this and easily steer clear of controversy.

Glad you spotted it was a snipe. Thought an appreciation of sarcasm (or even the ability to spot it...) had died on the HUBB.

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My review about Hossein's Guest House

During my motorcycle trip in Iran:I saw number of foreign motorcyclists on the road,funny they were very surprised to see me because i'm an Iranian motorcyclist who is traveling on motorcycle then we talked for information exchange,I found Hossein and this great web site through them.
My route was through Urmia so i decided to see Hossein and stay with him.I reached to the main square of Urmia in the late evening and i phoned to Hossein after few minutes he arrived then we start riding to direction of the house which wasn't far away from center.
afterwards i parked my motorcycle in the huge yard,at the same time Hossein's parents and his little cute brother welcomed me in their house.
Hossein showed my room with WiFi which was fastest internet connection that i used in my life.I read his guest book with many many comments on it now its my proud that i was the first Iranian motorcyclist who stayed at Hossein's Guest House.
I want to thank all those who helped me in Urmia :
Fisrt of all the family of Hossein for their hospitality.
Super funny and kind friends of Hossein.
Hossein's famous mechanic friend for the great service on my motorcycle.
and finally special thanks for Hossein who arranged everything,Thank you very much man!!!

Like everyone else i recommend to stay at Hossein's guest house and also i believe his services.

looks like a well thought and prepared ad campaign !
An Iranian talks about another one ...

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Hey Chris,
thanks for clearing this up.

I can see where you are coming from now. I feel the problem seems to be his way of communication rather than what one gets for their money. Hence a topic like this might help, as people do know what to expect when they get there and can steer clear of it, if they do not want/need his services for the given price.

Iran to me was full of people who helped me a lot, and everyone but Hossein helped me for free. We stayed with friends in Esfahan for a week and they refused us even paying for our rooms or food at the hotel, as they invited us. We met a guy in Tehran, who invited us to his place in Bandar Abbas. As we showed up there, he was just riding in Turkey. Calling him, he told us where to meet his brother, who handed over the flat keys and we could stay for as long as we like.

But still, I do not believe this makes everybody asking for money a crook. In my opinion (and I hope I made that clear in my first reply) Hossein is running a business but communication is not really his strong suit. Apparently he has made some mistakes before, but seemingly now everybody getting there knows he is paying a (for Iranian standards very high) price. So as long as he communicates his prices openly, I do not see a problem in this.

I can however very well understand that people were rightly pissed off, when they got there and expected a free stay and then were asked to pay $25. That was one of the reasons why I went there in the first place, to see what it was like.

If his business is illegal or not I would not know, but I can hardly believe he would risk this, given that this seems to be his single income and he would loose a lot if he was shut down. I would love Mehmets perspective of this, as I feel this to be quite a rude accusation, without clearing how he comes to that believe. No personal offence intended here, just makes me wonder.

But I guess you are right and the best thing to do for Hossein was becoming an official advertiser here, posting up his prices, so all this finger pointing could just come to an end.

And believe it or not, he is not badgering me to write this - also I still do not understand how he would make people write good stuff about him, if he was the total crook some believe him to be.
Phew, this whole Hossein discussion is a lot more than I expected when first posting here.

PS: Sarcasm was noted and enjoyed...

Yes,of course Iranians are the most friendly people you will meet around the world but When you are told Konugum ol, means come and stay at my house is wrong and its one of the cultural differences which we call it TA'AROF
Just to clear up :
when you meet someone in Iran and you are told come and stay at my house this is TA'AROF,a system of formalised politeness than can seem confusing to outsiders,but is a mode of social interaction in which everyone knows their place.
You will soon learn that TA'AROF is more about people being sensitive to the position of others than routine politeness,so for example ,an offer of food will be turned down before being accepted.This gives the person making the offer the chance to save face if in reality they cannot provide a meal.A good rule is to always refuse any offer,when a shopkeeper,restauranter or a hotel manager refuses payment when asked for a bill,do remember that this is just TA'AROF-don't leave without paying!If you accept an offer that is in fact TA'AROF,the shocked look on the vendor's face should soon reveal your error.
Also be prepared for questions considered personal in the west,such as your salary,marital status,why you don't have children and so on.this is quite normal.
and dont forget to refuse offers to stay in peoples house,it would be bad form for you to accept his offer.

Also today morning i phoned to the nearest custom to my hometown,and they told me its possible to enter into Iran without Carnet de passage also they mentioned there is peoples who do this service with support of official companies,i think Hossein is one of them
As far as i know Hossein is running this business since years ago and if his services are illegal why he have not any problem with government or other items?

I'm trying to find latest information and details about what you post Mehmet.

I am so sorry to hear this sentence from you
You mean I can not share my opinion and information about Iran and Iranians?

Of course you can...
As I saild above, after living 4 months in Tehran and seen so much things, I am not sure about this.

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

At the end of your taxi trip in Iran,there's a good chance you will ask the driver "chand toman"(how many tomans ?)and he will reply 'ghabeli nadare'his words means its nothing or "konugum ol" but the taxi driver still expects to get paid.This is TA'AROF a system of formalised politeness than can seem confusing to outsiders,but is a mode of social interaction in which everyone knows their place.
TA'AROF also involves showing consideration of others in your physical actions,so try not to sit with your back to the people and expect to be delayed at doorways as Iranians insist that whoever they're with goes through the door first with repeated 'befarmayid'(Please).

And don't forget to pay the taxi driver...think of it this way : it would be bad form for the driver not to offer you the trip for free,and worse form for you to accept his offer.

Maybe you think Iranians are very politics and playing the game well but if you like or don't like TA'AROF is in our CULTURE.Please imagine if i come to your country and something happens for me which is from your culture and i don't like it i have to respect it because i am a foreigner and its part of your culture.

Dear Samy would you mind to tell me is there any free speech here or not?

Of course there is, it completely does exist here... so we can say it freely...

But Soleyman, please accept, as a Turkish guy if it is difficult for me to understand that, it is VERY DIFFICULT for European friends who comes from totally different culture !

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

So,i can share my experiences about other Iranians too.

Yes,i accept it is hard for foreigners to understand but thats why people traveling,they travel to learn and see different culturs in the world.

Best regards

where do you live in Iran?

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Mashhad,North East

Wow...little bit OTT to take a generalised swipe at an entire country.

thx... hope to meet someday...

planning a Stans ride for 2015...

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Hi RIDERS

it seems Hussain is on the right path for serving the RIDERS how is crossing in/out of Iran. i wish one day he will take it further and open a RIDERS motel.

i didnt meet Hussain in person but i have heard many good stories from people how visited him on the way to UAE.

i wish him all the best and serving the RIDERS and sharing your hobby is appreciated .

Regards
Saleh
Dubai, UAE

You all know me long enough to know that nobody is going to "pay" me in any kind of way to write down what I have to say about this:

First of all, I haven't been to Iran, but I will be there in a few months, second of all, I've never met Hussein, but I talked with him over FB and e-mail and in the end I left him because he was to "aggressive" in my opinion.

It is difficult to draw a line between aggressiveness and informing on another's plans, but for me it didn't felt right. 25$ is a bit steep but on the other hand, I would prefer to give some local 25$ and stay with him and enjoy some (difference in?) culture than to stay in a hotel.

What's more, I think it is VERY rude for (western)people to expect to just crash at somebody's place for free. When is the last time you invited week after week some stranger(s) in your house for free? Honestly?

We always refuse but we leave the door open, if the host asks if we're sure to refuse we always say no, that we would like to stay then if they are absolutely sure that we son't be in the way and that it's not a problem for them. As of course we want to stay with a local but we do understand that a lot of people in central asia will offer it as it is their custom but maybe they actually can't afford it. Comme on guys, WE ARE ALL RICH, we have enough money and resourcefulness to be able to travel to places like that. And if a local tries to make a living out of it, what's the problem?

If his communication really sucks, which it does, then maybe you should explain it to him in a polite manner that 'we' think different and that he has to learn to be able to make a bridge between his culture and ours.

As Soleyman points out, the Iranian customs and culture is a world of it's own. We travel to taste difference in culture no? Or do we just travel for the sights without any interaction with other human beings? @ Soleyman, thank you for some clarifications about your culture, I'm sure it will help me and my wife next year to understand and interact in a better way once we're in Iran.

Can we please return to a civilised discussion and say what we have to say in an orderly manner with examples etc? Please?

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